Plagiobothrys arizonicus, Arizona Popcornflower
Scientific Name: Plagiobothrys arizonicus
Common Name: Arizona Popcornflower
Also Called: Arizona Popcorn Flower, Blood Weed, Bloodweed, Blood-weed, Lipstick Plant, Popcorn Flower
Family: Boraginaceae, Forget-Me-Not Family
Synonyms: ()
Status: Native.
Duration: Annual
Size: Up to 15 inches.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; erect or ascending, rough, stiff hairs.
Leaves: Green with reddish margins; basal rosette, mid-stem leaves alternate, linear, bottom ( abaxial) of leaf with red midvein, hairy strigose.
Flower Color: White; flowers tiny in single or multiple clusters on stem tips, corolla lobes rounded, fruit a nutlet.
Flowering Season: March to March in Arizona and California.
Elevation: Up to 5,000 feet, more abundant at lower elevations.
Habitat Preferences: Between bushes and rocks in Creosote bush and Oak communities.
Recorded Range: Arizona Popcornflower is native to the southwestern United States; AZ, CA, NM, NV and UT. Also native to northern Mexico.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Plagiobothrys arizonicus.
U.S. Weed Information: No data listed.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No data listed.
Wetland Indicator: No data listed.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No data listed.
Comments: Arizona Popcornflower is easy to identify with its distinguishable red leaf margins and a purple sap when crushed.
Parts of Arizona Popcornflower has been used as a red pigment to paint the body and face. See ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.